Health — Blog — Carolee Walker

When helping yourself means reaching out to others for help

“How would you feel about categorizing your book as self-help or personal growth?”

I was having a telephone conversation with an editor at a publishing house about my memoir. I had finished the manuscript in August and had been pitching the project to literary agents and publishers, taking online workshops on how to publish a book, and tweaking the pages based on feedback from readers.

I was never sure whether it was a good idea to call my book a memoir. I’m always visiting bookstores to look at what’s on the memoir shelf or the self-help, psychology, or personal growth shelves, so I get why she was asking the question.

It’s my fitness journey, that’s true, but I wouldn’t say fitness defines me.

“Sure,” I said, “I’m good with that.”

Exercise, Fitness, Health, Memoir, Personal Growth, Self-HelpCarolee WalkerMarch 12, 2018self-help, memoir, Health, Fitness, feeling good, exercise, writing, confidenceComment

Here's what happens when I walk

I am a walker.

Every day.

Ok I'm also a runner. You know that.

I used to schedule walking on my workout day off or when I was rehabbing an injury.

But lately I've noticed it's the walking that's making the difference in my overall sense of joy and well being that I get from exercise.

Exercise, Fitness, HealthCarolee WalkerJuly 7, 2017exercise, walking, Health Comments

Where it began

By last Thursday afternoon I was feeling the effects of the upper body workout I did with Zach Schumaker, my trainer, on Wednesday night. My pecs were so inflamed and sore I wasn't 100 percent convinced I wasn't having a heart attack. In general I welcome delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) because it means I'm placing stress on my muscles, allowing them to adapt.

But then of course I'm forced to change up my training. So on Friday, instead of cross training on the elliptical or swimming, I did walking intervals on the treadmill at a 12 percent incline; no stress on the upper body but I got my heart rate up high enough to feel great getting ready for work and throughout the day.

I was planning to do a long swim Saturday morning but still felt sore. A year ago I would have pushed through but if I've learned anything through all of this it's the value of deloading. So instead, with my head still on my pillow, I smiled.

I'll do an easy run.

It wasn't the run that made me smile, although I enjoy these shakeout runs.

It was the bagel. With peanut butter.

Exercise, Fitness, Health, Nutrition, RunningCarolee WalkerFebruary 12, 2017exercise, Fitness, Health, weight loss, Nutrition, grit Comments

When life gets in the way, yeah

Nothing tastes as good as healthy feels.

This popped into my head after I instinctively extended my arm to help a woman, probably in her late 50s, as she walked from her car into a theater in Warsaw, Indiana, a few weeks ago.

We were standing on a slight incline steps from the entrance. A bus pulled up and began to unload. I was seeing the 2 pm matinee of "Grease" at Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts with my close friend Carmelita Watkinson, and it was a gorgeous day. We were there to see her awesome and talented son Sean play the role of Danny Zuko.

Exercise, Health, FitnessCarolee WalkerSeptember 3, 2016Health, exercise, obesity Comments

How we do

I was having a conversation with a friend who asked me how I’m able to keep up an exercise regimen 6 days a week.

I exercise before work, setting my alarm for 4:30 and getting to the gym by 5:15 or the track by 6:00 am. So her question is a good one. At least half of the time I am fighting the alarm and trying to talk myself into the benefits of sleeping in just this once.

But I don’t.